Create a Master Plan for Self-Improvement

The most difficult thing to change is yourself. Even though many fail after the first week of trying, being hard-working and devoted to the things you want can help you tremendously. What’s more, evaluating yourself from time to time and writing down your goals and the things you want to achieve can play a big role as well. That is why, for anything that you strive for, you need to look at yourself as your next big project. And as any big project that you have, you need a master plan. This article deals with the best ways and ideas to make the journey to a better you as easy as possible.

Find your motivation

The first thing that you need to do is find your motivation. There is surely a thing that’s triggered the change you’re about to make, but finding all the positive things that will keep you going is equally important. The more things you have to motivate you, the better the result. In order not to forget this and keep yourself motivated at all times, keeping a motivational board in a visible place is a good idea. Make sure to include motivational quotes, photographs and handwritten messages, and feature the people who motivate you, the person you want to be and the things you wish to achieve.

Skills you can transfer

There certainly are skills that you have but don’t think are good enough for self-improvement, and that’s where you’re wrong. Each skill you possess is equally important. Surely, some of these will have a bigger role in your self-improvement process, but there’s no skill that you should forget about. Let’s say you want to make a career transition – list all the skills you possess and ask yourself the following: how can I transfer this skill to my new path? If you happen to have any difficulties with this, don’t run away from asking for help from a friend or an expert. What skills you can transfer and how is of crucial importance.

Knowledge, skills, experience: a map

Since you will be perceiving yourself as your next big project, you need to have something tangible in front of you to help you improve yourself in the best way possible. One of the things you can do is the following: take a piece of high-quality white a3 paper, and make a map of your skills, your experience, and all the fields you have enough knowledge in. Having everything listed in front of you can open your eyes, and many new things can come to your mind. This is especially important if you’re a visual type of person. Divide the whole project into three timelines – what you’ve done so far, what you’re currently doing, and what you want to be doing. This is the best way to organize yourself and decide on the next steps.

Convert your negatives into positives

The next step is to try to find a way to make your weaknesses into your strengths, and make new opportunities out of the threats you are currently experiencing. First of all, determining your weaknesses can help you a lot. For example, if you happen to be a poor public speaker, working on that through a course can make you stronger. Note that everyone who’s made their weaknesses into strengths is worth more, as they know both sides of the spectrum. Moreover, taking a threat, becoming familiar with it and eventually facing it, is definitely advisable, as it can open new doors that you didn’t even know existed.

Do a personal SWOT analysis

Now that you know what your weaknesses, strengths, threats and opportunities are, it’s a good time to do a SWOT analysis of yourself. Since this is a pretty serious process, hiring a life coach who can help you is always a good idea. You can also ask a friend or a family member for help, but you really need to make sure they’re not very subjective, as you need to hear only the truth. SWOT analysis is very popular but it’s only meant for companies, as each person can SWOT analyze themselves. It will show you what you can bring to the table, and what things you have to change and how by emphasizing both your advantages and disadvantages.

Self-assessment is of the utmost importance every time you strive to become a better version of yourself. And even though it’s quite challenging, and sometimes very complicated, the most important thing is that you’re not hard on yourself and see everything with objective eyes. That is why it’s always good to have someone by your side who can openly say whatever they think. If you take these tips into account, the whole journey will definitely be easier. Good luck!

4 thoughts on “Create a Master Plan for Self-Improvement”

Self-improvement, I believe, starts from reflection and self-realization. That’s why your idea of making a personal SWOT analysis is a great way to start a process of self-improvement. Opening up yourself to your flaws and accepting it as something you need to change or improve on doesn’t mean you’re changing who you are, and this is a common misconception. I personally believe that trying to change a part of you, those that you think are wrong, makes you a better person and if people have that same mindset, I think the world would be a lot better.